


Dead Men Tell no Lies

by Of_Thistles_and_Weeds



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, I'm Sorry, Loki (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Not A Fix-It, Team Bonding, Thor (Marvel) Dies, and i'm very not ok with it but the show must go on, just... a little too late, too bad Thor isn't there to give it to him
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 07:07:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15552336
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Of_Thistles_and_Weeds/pseuds/Of_Thistles_and_Weeds
Summary: It's hard for Loki, being on the other side of death after all these years.





	Dead Men Tell no Lies

**Author's Note:**

> OK SO I know a few people have tried out the "Thanos kills Thor instead" au, but I really wanted to try my hand at it since this has been rattling around in the back of my head. This fic marks a lot of firsts for me: First Marvel fic, first au fic, first fic I've ever actually published, so it's gonna be a mess.  
> The Thor stan in me was dying as I wrote this, but the weird drama creature in me was rubbing my hands together like a gross little fly thinking about how sad I can make my favourite characters. Life's full of contradictions, ya know?  
> This one probably won't have a happy ending, but I've already got a sequel planned because I'm sensitive and this is my therapy.

“The Tesseract, or your brother’s head. I assume you have a preference?”

All around him the air was filled with the croaks and shudders of the damaged Asgardian vessel, and Loki almost had to suppress a laugh. He had been in Thanos’ presence long enough to know that the Titan never  _ truly  _ gave his prisoners options, only illusions. No, he toyed with them as if there was a choice, only to tear it away at the last moment of hope. It was a fear tactic, and Loki knew how to play along.

“Oh, I do. Kill away.”

Purple light exploded from the Gauntlet as Thanos pressed the Power Stone into Thor’s temple. The God of Mischief tightened his jaw, avoiding his brother’s gaze, hoping above all else that Thor would recognize his bluff. A treacherous voice at the back of his mind whispered  _ but why would he? You’ve sought his death before, why is now any different?  _

Thor cried out in agony, and the sound send a shudder running down the length of Loki’s spine. He had heard his brother scream before - had been the  _ cause _ of such screams, on more occasions than he could count - but in all their thousand years, Loki had never heard  _ this _ . Loki was well acquainted with the burn of an Infinity Stone, but never in his life had he expected his big brother to experience such torment.

He held his nerve as long as he dared, but there was a desperation in Thor’s voice, a rawness that screamed  _ by the Norns it hurts, make it stop, make it stop please-  _ and he found himself losing resolve. His expression of nonchalance cracked under the weight of Thor’s pain.

“Alright, stop!” 

His shout echoed across the damaged chamber. Thanos moved his fist from its place on Thor’s head, and the God of Thunder went limp in his grasp.

Thor choked, “We don’t have the Tesseract. It was destroyed on Asgard,” and Loki’s heart fell in his chest.

Damn. He had hoped to avoid hurting his brother any more than was necessary during this altercation, hoped Thor had already figured Loki to be harbouring the Tesseract, but it appeared as though this one secret would be coming out the hard way. 

Loki weighed his options as the collective eyes of the Black Order fixed themselves on him. If he were fast, perhaps he could strike out with the Space Stone and kill everyone on this ship, himself included. He would die,  _ Thor _ would die, and what remained of Asgard would be lost forever, but the Titan would be stopped. And if he were too slow, then his valiant effort would surely send him to Valhalla.

But then that sick,  _ treacherous _ part of his mind spoke up again, and it said  _ Use the Tesseract and run. In one swift movement you could be lightyears from here. Damn Thor and damn all of Asgard. Sentiment has made you soft. _

The thoughts were promptly shoved away as Loki decided he could not,  _ would not _ , run away this time - not when life had finally begun to go his way. 

Not when he had finally regained some semblance of self-control.

Of hope. 

So be it.

The God of Mischief’s face held none of its usual cunning as he cast his eyes down and reached for the dimensional pocket in which the Tesseract was held. The Cube cast a sickly blue light across his face as it materialized in his outstretched hand, and through the glare he could see Thanos sneer.

From somewhere below his gaze Loki heard Thor sigh, “You really are the worst, brother,” and for once Loki had no comeback, no quick words in defense of his honour, because this time Thor was right. Loki truly was the worst, but in this moment there was no time for guilt. 

The brothers locked eyes as Loki moved to hand the Tesseract away. “I assure you, brother… the sun  _ will  _ shine on us again,” and by the Allfathers did he want to believe his own words. Thor would believe him, of course. He always did.

“Your optimism is misplaced, Asgardian,” Thanos mocked.

A perfect setup. “For one thing, I’m not Asgardian,” Loki smirked, “and for another, we have a Hulk.”

The coming moments of the fight blurred into a senseless commotion. Loki flung himself at Thor, pulling him out of the way just as Hulk burst onto the deck and went for Thanos.  

The brothers lay motionless on the floor as the fight raged on, too lost in the commotion to speak. They waited with baited breath as the Titan grappled with their friend, until Thanos landed a blow that sent the Hulk reeling. And then another blow. And another. In what felt like the blink of an eye, Hulk lay prone on the wrecked ground.

In a flash, Thor was on his feet, slipping from his brother’s grasp. “Stay down,” he ordered, and Loki realized too late what the God of Thunder intended. Thor struck at Thanos with whatever he could find, a broken pole, and when it inevitably shattered on impact Thanos brushed the assault aside. One of his children responded in his stead, as hunks of the ship were forced up and around Thor’s body, utterly immobilizing him. 

Loki bit back a curse as he hid himself away among the rubble.

When the familiar glow of the Bifrost ripped through the ship, sending something (someone?) away, Loki paled. He did not see the glaive pierce Heimdall’s heart, did not see the life flee from his all-seeing eyes, but his ears betrayed the truth. The scrape of metal, a pained wheeze, and then silence, and Loki knew it was done. The Guardian of Asgard, the man who had welcomed Loki home even when he deserved it least, had died for his people, just as the greatest of warriors do. 

As Loki found his feet, disguised against the rubble, a realization dawned upon him. The day was lost, that much was almost guaranteed, and he had only the faith in one person to avenge Asgard against Thanos,  _ so long as that one person escaped _ . To give Thor the best chance of surviving this, Loki would have to do something drastic.

There was a rumble, a jolt of energy as the Tesseract was shattered and  _ Space  _ placed into the Gauntlet, and Loki sensed his time to be up. He had one last option, one last trick up his sleeve, and it had to be done  _ now. _

Ebony Maw was speaking - twisted, vile words that dripped with Thanos’ lies - and then Thanos gave a command. Loki seized his chance.

“If I might interject,” he cast an air of whatever confidence he could muster, stepping towards his opposition, “If you’re going to Earth, you might want a guide.” Norns, he hoped this would work. “I do have a bit of experience in that arena.”

Thanos’ glare was cold as ice. “If you consider failure experience,” he quipped.

“I consider  _ experience _ experience,” Loki responded, his grin overpowered by the anger that pulled at every line of his face. He hoped that in the next life Thor could forgive him for his coming actions.

“Almighty Thanos,” he proclaimed, “I Loki, Prince of Asgard…” he focused on Thor’s grief-stricken face, forcing the word out, “Odinson, the rightful King of Jotunheim, God of Mischief,” the blade materialized in his hand, “do hereby pledge to you my undying fidelity.”

He shot the blade up with as much speed and force as he could muster, but as he had anticipated, the raw power of two Infinity Stones overpowered him quickly. 

With a single sharp motion, Thanos wrenched the knife from Loki’s arm and in that instant Loki was entirely vulnerable.

“‘Undying.’ An interesting choice of words.”

The God braced himself for the Titan’s wrath, steeled himself towards his death, when - 

“Maw, restrain him.”

Suddenly there were tendrils of cold metal coiling up his legs, around his midsection, his shoulders, his mouth, until he was utterly immobilised in his bindings. 

It took his brain a second to register what was happening, until he saw Thanos pace towards where Thor was restrained.

_ Shit, shit shit shit, he was supposed to go for me!  _ Loki tried to cry out, but the metal wrapped around his mouth only pulled tighter.  _ Thor is going to die, Thor  _ cannot _ die… no, no, no- _

Thanos bent down ever so slightly and grabbed Thor by the neck, his steel bonds falling away with a wave of Ebony Maw’s hand. Loki’s mind went blank as he writhed in his metal cage, thoughts filled only with rage and grief and  _ oh Norns, not Thor, not Thor- _

The God of Thunder scrabbled at the fist which wound itself around his throat, hands struggling in vain to free him from the Gauntlet’s vice. Loki could tell that Thor was gasping, perhaps even trying to speak, but no sound reached his ears as he watched his brother’s life slip away, helpless to do anything more than weep.

The coming sound was enough to stop Loki’s heart dead in his chest. It was a cracking noise, like a log nestled deep in a firepit giving way to the heat, and yet as this sound reverberated through the air Loki  _ knew _ \- he knew that horrid crunch to Thor’s neck giving way under Thanos’ glove.

And in that moment, Loki also knew himself to be alone on the remains of his ship.

Thanos turned, expression wholly too similar to a grin, and looked down at Loki, the God of Thunder still dangling from his grasp. “I  _ did _ promise a fate worse than pain should you fail me, did I not?” he purred, and the condescension in his voice made Loki’s stomach  _ lurch, _ made his veins pulse with an anger he had never felt before.

When Thor dropped to the ground before his brother, all of that rage was instantly flushed away in a wave of despair that seeped through him. Thor’s face - mighty, golden Thor with his warm eyes and  _ stupid _ smile - was distorted in agony, a repulsive shade of grey streaked only by the blood that trickled down into his beard. 

_ Power _ surged through the hull of the ship as Thanos prepared to leave. He was going to tear what little remained of the  _ Statesman _ apart, send the remains of Asgard flying into empty space, but Loki could do nothing but fall limp as the metal around him released.

_ “What should be done with the traitor, Father?” _ droned Proxima Midnight.

“Leave him - he is no threat to us.” 

The world around him faded away as Loki dragged himself over to where Thor’s body lay, broken and empty. With what little strength he could find in his limbs, the God of Mischief pulled his elder brother close, silent tears flowing from his eyes as he cradled the last family he had left in his arms.

It was supposed to be Loki, it was  _ always _ supposed to be Loki, and yet in some cruel twist of cosmic fate Thor was the one lying dead in his brother’s arms. Loki sank into Thor’s still form as the purple haze spread around them, and with a dramatic burst of energy and light, everything faded away.

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter 2 should be here soon. Next up: Loki meets the gang and has a bitch of a time.


End file.
